UFC 135 Predictions

by Alexander Banks on Friday, September 23rd, 2011

UFC 135 Predictions: There’s no question that (13-1-0) Jon “Bones” Jones [2/11] is one of the most unique fighters ever to compete at 205 in any mixed martial arts promotion. With the opportunity to begin building his legacy and start ascending towards the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, Jones will make his first UFC title defense against an overwhelmingly huge UFC 135 Betting Odds underdog, (32-8-0) Quinton “Rampage” Jackson [15/4].

“All the pressure is on him,” Jackson said. “He's got to defend his belt. He's never been whooped up on before. I've lost before. I've lost my belt before. It's another day at the office for me.”

UFC 135 happens tomorrow, Saturday night, from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, the place where it all began for the organization. The UFC 135 main event will be for all the marbles, as the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship of the world will be on the line. UFC 135 gets underway at 9 PM ET on PPV, but be sure to check out the free UFC 135 Prelims beginning at 8 PM ET on SPIKE TV.

Strangely, Jones has quickly gone from being one of the most humble, respectful young talents in the sport, to a cocky, arrogant fighter who many MMA fans love to hate. Jones claims that his decline in the public’s perception can be blamed on Rashad Evans’ accusations of being “fake”.

The former sparring partners’ relationship went sour after it was announced that Evans and Jones would fight for the UFC title. According to Sugar, Greg Jackson — the owner of “Jackson’s MMA” the place where both Jones and Evans once rained together — allegedly decided to coach Jones rather than Evans for their head-to-head bout when the decision was announced by the UFC.

While the Evans-Jones fight is expected to happen next, assuming Bones is able to defend his title by beating Rampage, the challenger agrees with Sugar’s assessment of the 24-year-old Jones. According to Rampage, “fake” would be the best way to describe Jon Jones.

“The kid has no respect for nobody, and he needs to be humbled,” said the former Pride champ at a recent UFC 135 press conference. “Sometimes you fight people, and people don't know their place. This kid obviously don't know his place. It's a thin line between being confident in yourself and overly cocky like the way he talks down to his opponents. It's not right. It's not called for.”

My UFC 135 Predictions for Jones vs Jackson: It’s clear to everyone that Rampage is going to have to take some serious chances in order to get inside and neutralize Jones’ reach advantage. Rampage is going to have to “take two in order to land one,” to have any chance at all at pulling off the upset. I simply don’t see this happening. I’ll tell you what I see:

I predict Jon Jones will win this fight either way you look at it: KO, TKO, submission or decision. Now, I’m not by any means the biggest Jon Jones fan… at all. However, his superiority over Rampage is light-years away. Having said that, Jones better not go in there and try to put on too much of a show or he might get caught for being too cute.

Rampage’s best chances of winning are going to be countering Jones when he leaves himself vulnerable, which he tends to do quite a bit. Although I expect Jones to come out on top and face Evans next, I would not be surprised to see him get rocked by one of Rampage’s hooks while attempting a spinning elbow or a flying knee